Davidson County Market Owner Pleads Guilty to Sales Tax Evasion and Theft

Saturday, July 13, 2013 | 04:12pm

Nashville, Tenn. - The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to today's guilty plea of Nabih H. Zaher on charges of sales tax evasion and theft.

On March 15, 2013, Zaher was indicted by a Davidson County Grand Jury on 19 Class E felony counts of sales tax evasion in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 67-1-1440(g) and one Class C felony count of Theft of Property over $10,000 in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 39-14-103.

Judge Seth Norman accepted Zaher's guilty plea to two counts of sales tax evasion and one count of theft over $10,000. Zaher was sentenced to serve six years all of which was suspended while being placed on six years' supervised probation. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $35,419.88.

"The Department of Revenue promotes voluntary taxpayer compliance by educating taxpayers, aggressively pursuing criminal sanctions and demanding accountability when taxpayers engage in fraudulent activity," said Revenue Commissioner Richard H. Roberts. "This investigation underscores the department's ongoing efforts to enforce Tennessee's tax laws."

Commissioner Roberts expressed his appreciation for the excellent cooperation the department has enjoyed with District Attorney General Victor S. (Torry) Johnson and his staff. Citizens who suspect violations of Tennessee's revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).

In addition to collecting state taxes, over $2.0 billion of local sales and business taxes were collected by the department for local governments during the 2012 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.

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